IT is probably one of the tastiest achars ever, the tamarind achar, which is home-made and is prepared by Basmatttie Narine better known as Janet, who is a roadside vendor of all types of achars.

The 55-year-old sells at Miss Phoebe, Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice roadside on a wooden stall, where she displays her home-made achars, which come in the flavours of mango, tamarind, bling-bling (sourie), pepper sauce and pepper sauce with limes, pickled mangoes, gooseberry jam, chicken foot and plantain chips.

She has been selling at the same spot for the past 35 years now. After marriage she relocated to Miss Phoebe Village where she started her marriage life and decided to establish a small business to earn as a mother of seven.

When her husband became ill with a heart condition as a cane-cutter he opted for early retirement three years ago, when he could no longer do strenuous back- dam work.

Narine stated that she began operating her small business on a full-time basis when her husband became too sick to assist in garnering income for the home.

Home-made achars and pepper sauces on sale

She has been a resident of Miss Phoebe Village for the past 36 years and describes life there as fair, but it entails hard work and dedication as a small-business owner.

“Paying bills and meeting household expenses isn’t easy, but I try to make ends meet financially because I have to work and some days I sit here all day without selling much,” she said.

Narine reported that four of her seven children are married and are living elsewhere, while two are still at home and they would assist in whatever way they can.

“I am a diabetic and also suffer from hypertension and some days I feel sick, but I would still come out here because I don’t want to work with people and try to sell because I would sit and try to relax a bit to preserve my health,” she said.

Narine explained that she would buy whatever fruits are in season by the bulk and take the time to prepare the fruits to make the achars, after which it is stored in glass bottles for sale after all the ingredients are added and it is cooled.

She added that some overseas buyers would make orders and the locals also support the business when they can.

Narine is one of the friendliest faces in the village and she is a soft-spoken lady who is a family-oriented individual who makes an honest dollar vending achars, jams, pickles and chips.

The Councillor
Meanwhile, the Pepperpot Magazine also met Councillor Ramdat Isar, 61, a pensioner, who has a small shop attached to his house in the village and is a father of two.

The village elder disclosed that he has been a resident of Miss Phoebe Village since 1994 and his ancestors were the first settlers in the village.

He noted that the people of the village depend on the Albion/Port Mourant Sugar Estate for a living and most residents are employed as sugar workers.

Isar stated that some men in the village are skilled and construction workers and others have small businesses and are self-employed.

At the time, the elder had sourced some green mangoes which he had already peeled and were about to grate it to make mango achar for his wife to sell at the Rose Hall Market.

Isar noted that to make a comfortable life one has to do many jobs and he is also a farmer, who lost his crops to the flood this year and is in the process of re-planting some peppers, tomatoes, corilla, squash, pumpkins and cantaloupe.

He would plant crops and harvest and his wife is a vendor and she would sell the produce at the market to bring in an income.

Isar told the Pepperpot Magazine that the people want development in terms of an upgraded drainage system in the village and there is the need for a proper playground in the community for recreational activities.

“The people want street lights as a security feature because within recent times there have been some break-ins or what we call them ‘kitchen thieves’ and there is a drug and alcohol abuse issue among the youths in the village, so that needs to be addressed too; then there is noise nuisance, the playing of loud music; other than that, we are good,” he said.